Musings

I’ve been thinking.

These days we seem to have millions of millionaires. They are so common that to be anything of significance you have to reach the status of billionaire. I guess eventually the world will be full of billionaires, maybe even millions of them but never billions of billionaires. There are only so many people you can fit on one planet.

Eventually, we will have Squillionaires, or something in that category.

This put me on a train of thought about what does one do when we have squillions at our disposal?

You could build a palace. In the old days, the kings would build a palace or castle so magnificent that it would become something for future generations to visit, admire and wonder at. For example the Palace of Versailles, mad king Ludwig’s castle or Taj Mahal. I wonder what today’s billionaires or tomorrows squillionaires will leave behind for future generations. In the past, palaces and castles were also ways for artistic geniuses to express themselves. The artist would find a patron and flaunt his genius in design of a Vatican, or the painting of a Sistine Chapel for example. What artistic masterpieces will today’s patrons leave for us I wonder? Are the any Leonardo da Vinci or Michaelangelo’s out there? Modern artists seem to make creations such as dead animals preserved in formaldehyde. Hardly something to leave behind for future generations is it?

What about building a floating palace for about $30 million or more you can have your home away from home floating you anywhere you want around the world. I can’t see the point of that since where would you want to float to if you are in a palace whether it be land or sea?

Most of us fantasize about not having to work. This is really a myth when it comes to being a squillionaire. Look at Bill Gates, or Rupert Murdoch (media mogul). They can’t seem to stop working and the more they work the richer they get. Maybe there’s some kind of satisfaction in knowing that not only are you one of the richest people on the face of the planet, but you are actually getting richer by the minute.

Some of the squillionaires have an obsession with changing the way they look. Michael Jackson seems to enjoy turning himself from an ordinary looking guy into an alien where his original body and face have been donated to Madam Tussauds.

Personally, I would be stumped as to how to spend my time if I was a squillionaire. I’d like to think that maybe I would roam the world having sex with the most beautiful women available like dear old Howard Hughes but look at how he ended up, maybe that’s a dangerous path to take.

I could spend my time collecting the most rare and valuable objects known to mankind. On the other hand, once having possession, I would need to keep them under lock and key, not much fun in not being able to show off the most rare and valuable stuff or worrying that someone might steal them.

Some squillionaires have a penchant for using their wealth to influence politics and the course of world events. Saudi Arabia for example uses its oil wealth to sponsor the spread of Islam throughout the world by financing Islamic schools. Others are content with buying political favors. I wonder what is the point of changing the world if you are a squillionaire? Things couldn’t get any better for you right?

I wonder if anyone out there has any suggestions as to a worthy cause for a squillionaire to adopt other than ending world poverty and eliminating disease, and finding a cure to cancer?

Meanwhile, it back to the grindstone for Lex.